Travel cover that’s useless if your bag’s pinched at the beach

. . . or you suffer a nasty accident. They’re the cheap deals peddled online – but don’t expect much help when things go wrong

Holidaymakers who buy travel insurance from price comparison websites are being pushed towards policies that are full of holes, a Money Mail investigation reveals today.

our tests show that three in five of the cheapest deals listed on comparison sites leave holidaymakers exposed to huge bills if they suffer the most common travel mishaps.

Policies promoted as the ‘best deals’ typically contain stinging catches in the small print. some pay out only a tiny amount if you suffer a serious injury abroad or if your bag is missing. and holidaymakers who lose a ring on the beach or have their mobile phone stolen will find the cover almost worthless.

The findings raise concerns that vast numbers of people who shop around for cheap insurance this summer risk being stranded abroad with huge bills. our investigation found policies that will: Make you pay the first £500 of medical bills yourself.

Offer just £150 to replace a stolen £2,000 engagement ring.

Leave a family of four facing a £1,200 bill for a ruined trip to Florida.

Refuse to help elderly couples if they suffer a nasty accident in spain.

Block claims for injuries caused by common activities such as snorkelling.

Pay just £10 to compensate for a 12-hour flight delay.

some 18 million travel insurance policies are sold every year and around 50,000 claims are rejected, industry figures obtained by Money Mail show. This is often because the policy failed to live up to expectations, say experts.

James Daley, founder of consumer website Fairer Finance, says: ‘comparison sites need to work harder to help customers make their decision. Insurers have whittled down the prices, but there is enormous variation in the level of cover offered.’

We searched all the major comparison websites — moneysupermarket.com, gocompare.com, comparethemarket. com and confused.com — for cover for four holidays this summer: a family of four visiting Florida or Tuscany and an older couple travelling to spain or New york for two weeks.

PATHETIC PAYOUTS FOR LOST JEWELLERY

WITH some cheap policies, making a claim is hardly worth it because there is an enormous excess — and a tiny payout.

you need to pay the excess fee before your insurer will step in to cover the claim.

When we searched gocompare.com for a family of four going to Tuscany for two weeks, Big Blue cover’s economy policy was ranked fifth cheapest, costing £11.10. It pays out a maximum of £100 for lost or stolen valuables and £100 if you miss your flight.

But to see either of these paltry payouts you have to first stump up £175. so, you can forget claiming for valuables worth less than this.

If you are claiming for a laptop computer worth £1,000, the first £175 of this is your responsibility.

The insurer will pay the next £100, but it won’t offer a penny towards the remaining £725 cost. Cheaper.travel

insurance.co.uk seems to live up to its name — its bronze policy costs £29.61 for a family of four spending a fortnight in Florida and is ranked the second cheapest on the website moneysupermarket.com.

But a closer look throws up some nasty surprises. Lose a wedding ring or another piece of jewellery on the beach and the most you will receive is £150. There is also a £250 excess.

so, if you claim for a £2,000 engagement ring, you have to pay the first £250. The insurer will pay £150 of the remaining cost, taking the total to £400. But you’d be on the hook for the remaining £1,600.

The insurer is paying only 7.5pc of your bill.

Puffin Insurance consistently tops the charts of many comparison sites, offering bargain deals such as £35.10 for a couple heading to New york.

Its cheapest bronze policy will pay out £150 if you lose your passport — but there is a £200 excess.

Insure and Go’s popular Light economy policy, fourth cheapest on gocompare.com, is a snip at £41.09 for the same holiday.

It pays £300 for lost or stolen personal money and a maximum of £750 for lost or stolen baggage. But there is a £200 excess for each of these claims — meaning in reality the amount you get back is far less.

LOSE EVERY PENNY IF YOU MISS YOUR FLIGHT

Hours of hanging around in an airport for a delayed flight is a miserable start to any holiday.

Many travellers take some small comfort in knowing their insurance policy will compensate them.

But many of the cheaper deals promoted by price comparison sites offer nothing. and others use sneaky small print to deny payouts.

standard cover with insuratrip.com costs £33.66 for a couple in their 70s travelling to spain. It shows up first on moneysupermarket.com, but does not cover delays or an airline going bust. Flexicover’s £41.80

economy policy won’t pay out any thing at all if your trip is delayed or you miss your departure. The policy was offered to a family of four on a trip of a lifetime to Disney World in Florida — meaning they would lose every penny of the cost of the trip, likely to be thousands of pounds, if they missed their flight. If a holiday is cancelled or curtailed, customers can claim £1,000 each, but there is a £250 excess per person. Other firms just pay paltry amounts: alphatravelinsurance.co.uk offers at £29.68 and comes up second deal on moneysupermarket.com. It pays £10 for every 12 hours you are delayed up to a maximum of £150. And there are catches: if you wait 11 hours or the delay is caused by your flight being diverted after its departure, you won’t get a penny. If you are forced to cancel a holiday due to illness, some policies offer a small amounts that will cover only a fraction of the trip. Thomas Cook’s £32.15 policy pays up to £500 per person for a cancelled holiday — and there is a £190 excess on top. The policy was being offered as one of the top deals for a family of four heading to Florida on travelsupermarket.com. A 14 -night trip to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Orlando, including flights, is £813 per person on lastminute.com. so, the payout will not cover the full £3,252 cost of a ruined family holiday.

STRANDED ABROAD ON A HOSPITAL BED

MOST people’s biggest fear when going abroad is falling ill or suffering an accident and being stranded.

All the policies we saw covered at least £10 million of medical bills.

However, the small print of all goodtogoinsurance.com’s silver deals state that you must cover the first £500 of costs yourself.

Some firms force you to pay the first £250 of a claim even if you have a European Health Insurance Card, which is supposed to reduce the cost to the insurer of your treatment.

Other deals, including InsureandGo’s Light deal, refuse to cover you if you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure and haven’t declared it and then suffer an illness believed to be linked to your condition.

No one likes to think about it, but every year thousands of holidaymakers are seriously injured or killed in terrible accidents while abroad.

Good policies pay out tens of thousands of pounds under their personal accident clause if someone is badly injured, disabled or killed.

But some cheaper deals pushed by price comparison websites offer nothing — or at best a paltry sum.

Travelinsurance.co.uk’s Super Saver policy costs £34.58 for a family of four heading to Florida. But there’s no cover for serious injury, deemed to be loss of sight or an accident that causes permanent disability.

Insuratrip.com’s standard policy, which costs £36.80 for a couple in their 60s heading to Spain, has the same exclusion.

Other policies pay out relatively low amounts — typically £5,000 for adults who are made totally disabled and just £1,000 for a child under 18.

In some cases, insurers also pay out less to adults over the age of 75. And if your loved one’s body needs to be flown home, some insurers give only a set amount.

SNEAKY CATCHES IF YOU LOSE YOUR CASH

IF YOUR items are lost or stolen on holiday or your baggage is delayed, recouping the cost from a travel insurer should be straightforward.

But many of the cheaper deals cover only a fraction of the value of an item. They offer headline-grabbing payouts but often anything classed as a valuable — for instance, smartphones, jewellery or laptops — is limited to a tiny amount nowhere near the value of the item.

Insuratrip.com’s standard cover offered to a couple in their 70s heading to Spain will pay £100. Claims for valuables under Big Blue Cover’s economy policy are also limited to this sum. But a new smartphone can cost around £600, while an iPad is £499.

Cheaper.travelinsurance.co.uk’s bronze policy will pay out £250 in total per person for lost and stolen money. But just £150 of this can be cash — not cards — and if your money goes missing on a beach, you are limited to £50.

Puffin Insurance will pay out £250 for personal money with its bronze policy, but there’s a £200 excess.

This means there’s no point claiming for anything less than £200. If you’ve taken a lot of cash — as many did during the height of the Greek debt crisis last year, when cash machines closed — you may find only a small portion of it is covered.

Claiming a payout poses a further challenge. Some firms add sneaky loopholes — for instance, alphatravelinsurance.co.uk will pay a maximum of just £50 for items stolen next to a lido.

Items are considered unattended and are therefore not covered if they are not on your person or kept in a locked car boot in daylight hours.

WHEN SNORKELLING VOIDS YOUR COVER

ALL sorts of companies, from airlines to ferries and credit card providers, flog cheap travel insurance.

But industry analysis covering the whole insurance market reveals that there are vast differences in what policies cover.

Most deals insure travellers up to the age of 75 or even 80. But we discovered 64 policies with an upper age limit of 60.

And hidden in the small print are lists of common holiday activities for which you don’t have any protection at all — even if they are not that adventurous. We discovered four policies that won’t pay out if you’re injured snorkelling and another 153 won’t give you any cash for claims involving banana boating — where you ride on an inflatable raft pulled by a speedboat.

And if you fancy topping off your trip with a sedate flight in a hot air balloon — beware. We found 31 policies — largely sold by airlines and credit card providers — that won’t cover you if something goes wrong.

Other deals have tough restrictions around cancelling your trip.

The majority will give you a refund if you are made redundant and can no longer afford to go. But 13 of the budget options will not.

Most firms will also refund members of the Armed Forces who have to cancel their trip because they have been called into action.

But we discovered that 148 travel insurance policies refuse to pay out in these circumstances.

...HERE’S WHAT THE INSURERS HAD TO SAY

A FLEXICOVER spokesman says: ‘Policy wordings are clearly laid out so a customer can make an informed choice before purchase.’ Alphatravelinsurance.co. uk says: ‘We use excesses to reduce the premium that a customer pays.’ An insuratrip.com spokesman says: ‘We would always strongly recommend that customers read the policy wording before purchase to ensure an insurance policy meets their needs.’ Puffin Insurance managing director James Clarke says: ‘If you buy products with more comprehensive coverage at a higher premium, then the excesses are far lower.’ InsureandGo insurance services, the firm behind cheaper.travelinsurance.co.uk, travelinsurance.co.uk and InsureandGo Light, declined to comment.

Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at moneysupermarket.com, says: ‘If you want a higher level of insurance for your belongings, including gadgets, you need to shop around for the right cover, and it might cost a bit more.’

A gocompare.com spokesman says: ‘Along with the premium, we clearly display medical, cancellation and baggage cover levels and excesses, as well as star ratings from independent financial researcher Defaqto.’

A comparethemarket.com spokesman says: ‘While products are initially ranked by price, we also highlight the quality of each policy in order to help our customers make the most suitable choice for them.

‘Customers can filter products by their Defaqto star rating as well as limits and excesses.’

Confused.com was not available for comment.